


How to Save a Life

by icedragon822



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, Motherhood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:49:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25472668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icedragon822/pseuds/icedragon822
Summary: Kyoshi finds an abandoned infant... and she and Rangi add a new member to the family.
Relationships: Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 203





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My headcannon is that Kyoshi and Rangi adopt a baby and because gay marriage wasn't really accepted, that's why the history books have Koko as Kyoshi's child only.

It started with a cry by the side of the road 5 miles outside of Yokoya. Not even a proper cry, really- it was a pitiful mewling sound, weak and almost unnoticeable unless you had really keen hearing. 

“It’s just an animal,” Wong grunted when Kyoshi asked if anyone else had heard the sound. “Leave it.” He was annoyed that they were having to hike into the town rather than fly on Yingyong, since Kyoshi had sent Jinpa ahead to ready the house, which had been mostly rebuilt after having been destroyed in the fight with Yun, albeit quite a bit smaller and with less staff than before. They’d been on the road for three months, and everyone was ready to have a proper meal and bed to sleep in. 

But the sound made a strange prickle rise on the back of Kyoshi’s neck. There was something about it that didn’t feel right. She broke from the group and made her way to the prickly scrub bushes on the side of the road where she thought the sound was coming from. 

“Kyoshi, what the hell are you doing?” came Rangi’s sharp voice, close to Kyoshi’s back. She’d followed Kyoshi to the bushes. 

“I’m trying to figure out what this noise is,” Kyoshi replied. 

“Wong’s right, it’s just an animal. We’re wasting time.”

“There’s something wrong. It doesn’t sound right.”

“Maybe it’s been attacked by something. There’s nothing we could do for it anyway.” She grabbed Kyoshi’s hand. “Please, let’s just go,” she said softly. 

And then, just as Kyoshi was about to abandon the search and rejoin the party, she saw it- a filthy pile of blankets under the farthest bush, with something squirming around within it. 

She inhaled sharply and pushed her way through the bush, not caring about the brambles scratching at her. She grabbed the bundle and carefully pulled it out. 

“Oh no,” she said in a whisper. “Oh, Spirits help us.”

“What is it?” Rangi asked, at Kyoshi’s side in an instant. But she let out a gasp when she saw what Kyoshi was holding. 

Because in the pile of blankets wasn’t an animal. It was a baby, the skinniest and most pitiful-looking baby that either of them had ever seen. The skin was stretched taught across the cheekbones, the lips were cracked and peeling, the skin was covered with scratches from the thorns and brambles of the bush, and the ribs stuck out prominently. The smell coming off the baby was horrific; the baby had been laying in its own excrement for days. The baby let out another weak mewl. 

Kirima and Wong came over to see what Kyoshi and Rangi had found, and both immediately sobered up at the sight of the infant. 

“We need to find a doctor, NOW,” Kyoshi said. “The baby’s dying.”

“Open its mouth,” Kirima said, tugging her water flask from her belt. Kyoshi softly propped the baby’s mouth open as Kirima very gently bent a stream of water into the baby’s mouth. The baby swallowed instinctively; once the water was down, Kirima bent more in, repeating the process over and over until the baby let out another cry, this one sounding slightly stronger. 

Kirima placed the lid back on her flask. “I don’t know how much the water will help, but hopefully that bought us some time. But who’s going to take it to the doctor? It’ll take us ages to reach town. We’re still 5 miles out.”

“I’ll go,” Rangi said. “I’m the fastest one of us. I can get there in less than an hour.” She held her hands out for the baby, and Kyoshi carefully passed the baby over to her. Rangi tucked the baby close to her body before taking off into a careful sprint. 

Without thinking, Kyoshi took off after her. She needed to go with them, to be with the baby, no matter what the end result might be. She wasn’t nearly as fast or as graceful as Rangi; Rangi seemed to glide over the path, whereas Kyoshi stumbled and fell more than once. But she always got back up, and never let Rangi out of her sight. 

Sure enough, in less than an hour, they made it into Yokoya Port. Rangi immediately sped to find the best doctor in the town. By the time Kyoshi reached the doctor, she found Rangi standing off to the side while the doctor and her assistants were all gathered around the baby. Kyoshi couldn’t make out their murmured discussions, but she could tell by the tone that it was serious. She heard the tinkling of bottles and caught a warm glow that indicated that one of the assistants was trying to heal the baby with water bending. 

Kyoshi stood beside Rangi, and her wife, sensing her quiet distress, immediately grabbed her hand. Her thumb stroked Kyoshi’s knuckles soothingly. 

After what seemed like an eternity, one of the assistants broke away and came to join them. 

“You brought her just in time,” she said softly. “She was only hours away from death. We’ve stabilized her, but she has a long road ahead of her.”

“She?” Kyoshi asked in a whisper. 

“Yes. It’s a little girl, less than a month old,” the assistant said, a sad tinge to her voice. Abandoned infants weren’t uncommon in the Earth Kingdom, and more often than not, they were girls. Boys were seen as more useful than girls. They could carry on the family name, do more work in the fields. Girls were seen as a liability, just an extra mouth to feed. 

Kyoshi felt a pang in her heart. She knew what it felt like to be abandoned by those who were supposed to love you and care for you. That this baby girl had fought for her survival, had cried to let them know that she was there… it had to mean something. 

The doctor called them over. 

“She’s very weak,” she said. “But we’ve given her water and fortified goat’s milk, and one of my assistants provided healing water bending to her. We should keep her here for a while, at least a week. But I’m confident that she’ll survive, and be much stronger. She has a strong spirit, that’s for certain.”

Kyoshi nodded. “I’ll pay for her treatment, as long as she needs and whatever she needs.” Kyoshi had no money, but she would find a way to pay for it, even if it meant selling every item she owned. 

She stared at the child. She looked marginally better than she had before; she’d been cleaned and clad in a soft cloth diaper, her dirty blankets discarded. She was still alarmingly pale and thin, but she no longer looked like she was on the brink of death. Kyoshi reached out to touch the tiny hand, and felt the pang in her heart again when the baby closed her hand around her finger, as if to say “Thank you for saving me.” 

She felt a familiar presence beside her. Rangi again grasped her free hand and stroked it soothingly. 

After what felt like hours, Rangi finally whispered “Let’s go home,” her lips tickling Kyoshi’s ear. “We’ve done all we can for her. They’ll take it from here.”

When they got back to the house, Rangi dragged Kyoshi to their room. Dinner was waiting for them, but Kyoshi only picked at her food, her appetite gone. 

Rangi ran a bath for her, heating the water to Kyoshi’s preferred temperature. She helped Kyoshi undress, and when Kyoshi climbed in the tub she was surprised when Rangi stripped her clothes off and climbed in behind her. Kyoshi leaned back into her, and Rangi wrapped her arms around Kyoshi’s waist and pressed her lips to Kyoshi’s neck in a comforting gesture. They spent a few minutes silently, resting in the warm water. Occasionally Rangi would rub Kyoshi’s arm or back.

Kyoshi finally broke the silence. “How could her parents just throw her away like she was trash? She’s just a helpless child. She didn’t do anything to deserve this.”

Rangi could tell that Kyoshi wasn’t just talking about the baby. She was also talking about herself. She held Kyoshi tighter and placed another kiss on her neck. “She didn’t deserve it. And you didn’t deserve it either. But you had people who cared about you- Kelsang. Me. Our sworn brothers. And she’ll have people who care about her, too. You saved her life, Kyoshi. She has a whole future ahead of her because of you. We can’t erase the trauma of the past- of her past or yours. But we can move forward in hope, and in love.”

“But what will her future look like?” Kyoshi asked, her voice filled with pain. “Where will she go? Who will take care of her? She doesn’t have anyone.”

“She has us,” Rangi said in a small voice.

Kyoshi turned around suddenly, sloshing a good amount of water out of the tub. “What?”

Rangi looked at her hands, uncharacteristically unsure. “We could take care of the baby. Adopt her.”

A slow smile spread across Kyoshi’s face. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She and Rangi had only had one conversation about children in their two years of marriage, and it ended with Rangi screaming at her and storming off, claiming that they were “over” (only to return within the next hour with a fresh loaf of bread that she angrily shoved in Kyoshi’s hands). Rangi had said that children were a bad idea; they traveled too much, and neither of them had any idea about what they needed to do to raise a child. Kyoshi had reluctantly agreed, and that was that. 

But the second that the baby girl had closed her tiny hand around Kyoshi’s finger, she was gone. And now, hearing Rangi propose what she thought was the impossible… she thought her heart might burst from joy. 

Kyoshi simply leaned forward to kiss her wife on the lips. “Yes,” she whispered. “I want her so much. I want her more than I think I’ve wanted anything, except maybe for you.”

Rangi smiled into the kiss. “I may have already sent a hawk to my mother telling her that we were adopting a baby and asking her to come and stay to help us adjust.”

Kyoshi gave her a gentle slap on the shoulder. “You didn’t!”

Rangi laughed. “I did. And just so you know, she approaches motherhood like she approaches everything else. It’s like she’s running a small army. Be warmed.” 

Kyoshi laughed in response. “I can’t believe this. We’re going to have a baby. We’re going to be moms.”

“We are.”

“Is this real? I’m not in the Spirit World right now, am I?”

Rangi giggled. “No, this is very real.” She reached out to play with a strand of wet hair that had settled against Kyoshi’s collarbone. “She’s got a long road ahead of her to get better. And we’ll have to do a lot of adjusting. It’s going to be hard But we’ll get through it.”

“Together,” Kyoshi said. 

“Together,” Rangi agreed.

**

Three months later

“Everything is ready to go, Avatar Kyoshi,” Jinpa said. 

“Thanks, Jinpa,” Kyoshi said with a smile, looking up from finishing tying a knot in the wrap at Rangi’s hip. “We’ll be there in just a minute.”

She turned back to her wife with a smile. They’d secured the baby in a wrap against Rangi’s back in the fashion of Earth Kingdom peasant women. They figured that this was the most secure way to keep her still on a Sky Bison ride, and they would take turns wrapping her against their back or chest. 

“Does she seem comfortable?” Rangi asked, unable to see the baby behind her. 

“Very,” Kyoshi answered. “Aren’t you Koko?” She reached out to brush her daughter’s cheek, which after three months of consistent feeding and lots of love, had filled out to be quite chubby.

Koko simply responded with a sweet, gummy smile. 

It was Rangi who had come up with the name Koko. Hei-Ran had been proposing old, noble Fire Nation names; she’d been strongly suggesting that the baby be raised in the Fire Nation traditions. She indeed mothered like she was running a small army. She tried to have the baby on a strict schedule from the moment that they brought her home from the doctor’s, and would make off-hand comments such as “You need to remember that she needs to spend time on her stomach every day or her head will become flat. And top knots look terrible on a flat head.” And while Rangi seemed primed to follow in her mother’s footsteps in her parenting style (she was already coaching Koko in how to roll over in the same way that she coached Kyoshi in firebending), she was adamant on the name. 

“She had such a sad start to life. She needs a happy name to go with her new, happy life.” Koko was one of the happiest Earth Kingdom names that they could think of, so Koko it was. 

They had stayed in Yokoya with her for the first three months, focused on getting her strong and well. She did well on a diet of fortified goat’s milk, and changed from a skinny, pale infant to a chubby, happy baby who was quick to smile and almost always content. Her eyes were a bright Earth Kingdom green, her skin was somewhere between Rangi’s pale hues and Kyoshi’s tan, and she had a few wisps of soft dark hair on her head. She was the most beautiful child that either of them had ever seen, because she was THEIRS. 

Motherhood hadn’t been easy; far from it. They had to learn how to feed her, burp her, bathe her, dress her, change diapers, comfort her, and learn what she needed when she needed it. There had been mistakes. There had been fights. There had been nights where they had held a screaming baby, feeling helpless as to how to comfort her and calm her. But somehow, some way, they had survived and she had survived. Koko was a happy, healthy, VERY loved four-month-old. She was the favorite member of the Flying Opera Company by a long shot. Everyone adored her. Jinpa told her Air Nation fables; Kirima gently bent water into different fun shapes that made her smile widely; Yingyong tried to lick her, seemingly claiming her as one of her own calves; and even Wong and Lao Ge seemed fond of her. She had already wrapped herself around Rangi’s little finger; Rangi had already claimed the position of “tough mom,” but she was also the first to run for Koko when she cried, was the first of them to elicit a genuine smile from the baby, and Kyoshi had even caught her singing to the baby when she thought she was alone. It was one of the great tragedies of Kyoshi’s life that it would go down in history books that Koko was her daughter alone, when Rangi was just as much her mother. 

Kyoshi was surprised to find that she was a decent mother herself, even though she hadn’t had one of her own. She was able to decipher what each of Koko’s cries meant, and could make her burp every time she needed to when no one else could. She could change a diaper in an instant without any sort of bending. She knew the best baby games, could make Koko smile in an instant, and was just as free-flowing with kisses and cuddles for Koko as she was with Rangi. 

And now, they were ready to travel again. The world needed its Avatar… but the Avatar needed her family. 

“Ready to go?” she asked Rangi. 

Rangi nodded, checking that Koko was secure at her back. “Ready.”

Kyoshi reached out her hand. “Together?”

“Together,” Rangi said, smiling back at her wife. “Always.”


	2. Island Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I wasn’t sure if I was going to confine with this series but I love this little family so much so I think I’ll add any one shot chapters about their family life from time to time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I named Kyoshi’s fox “Kumiho” after the nine-tailed fox in Korean folklore.

The island that was Rangi’s home may have been tiny and limited in resources, but in Kyoshi’s opinion the beauty of its beaches more than made up for it.

She’d had business in the Fire Nation but instead of heading straight back to the second house in Bah Sing Se that they used as one of their bases, the Flying Opera Company took a short detour to Hei-Ran’s home on the Sei’naka clan’s island. They had been traveling throughout the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation the whole summer; they deserved a few days of vacation to rest and relax. Hei-Ran’s home sat on a private section of beach, so no one but their own little group was nearby. It was perfect.

Kyoshi and Rangi were laying together on a blanket on the sand underneath an umbrella, their legs intertwined, staring out at the water. They were both wearing Fire Nation bathing costumes, and Kyoshi couldn’t stop stealing glances at Rangi’s muscled abs and the subtle curves of her waist and rear. Kyoshi got to see her wife in MUCH less than a bathing costume on a regular basis, but she never got tired of it. Rangi had to swat away Kyoshi’s hand several times when she playfully tried to pinch her bottom, but her sly smile showed that she was actually quite enjoying the attention. Kyoshi had also caught Rangi unashamedly staring at her, and while she usually shied away from excess attention, she found herself almost preening under her wife’s heavy looks. She was sure that if Koko hadn’t been sharing a room with them, she would be getting plenty more INTIMATE attention that night. 

They’d both brought scrolls with them to read, but both had been too busy staring at each other and watching the rest of Team Avatar to do much reading. 

Jinpa had stripped down to his waist and had been challenging everyone to Pai Sho matches. He had beaten everyone soundly, including Hei-Ran and Rangi (who had, to her credit, only tipped over the board once in frustration). He’d been trying to teach Koko the intricacies of the game, but at not quite five she was much more eager to go fishing for tadpoles in the tide pools, dig in the sand with Kumiho (Kyoshi’s spirit fox, who adored Koko since the day they had brought her home and was fiercely protective of her), eat snacks on the blanket with her mothers, or, as she was currently doing, play in the water with Wong and Kirima. 

Hei-Ran had situated herself in a chair underneath an umbrella, her hawklike eyes watching as her granddaughter frolicked on the beach. Despite her tough exterior, Hei-Ran adored the little girl and was even more protective of her than Kumiho was. She had gone to the water’s edge no less than three times to shout at Wong to be less rough.

Wong and Kirima had been playing with Koko in the water for over an hour. Wong threw the little girl high into the air and after she flew through the air with a delighted squeal and splashed into the water, Kirima bent a gentle wave to bring her back to them, and her happy shouts of “Again, Uncle Wong, again!” carried out over the beach (Hei-Ran and Kumiho both looked ready to spring into action and rescue their girl at a moment’s notice if she started to struggle in the water, but she was, of course, safe as could be under Wong and Kirima’s careful attention).

Kyoshi turned to look at Rangi, who was watching their daughter with a smile on her face.

“She’s got a lot of her mama in her,” Kyoshi said simply.

Rangi looked back at Kyoshi. “What do you mean?” she asked, slightly confused. Without really meaning to, she and Kyoshi had both ended up as “Mama,” and they both somehow knew which “Mama” Koko was asking for whenever she needed something. It was one of those strange extra senses that came along with motherhood.

“You,” Kyoshi replied. “She’s got a lot of YOU in her. Absolutely fearless.”

“I’m not fearless!” Rangi exclaimed, but her lips turned up in a slight smile. 

“Yeah, you’re not fearless like I’m not tall,” Kyoshi said, rolling her eyes. “I’ve seen you take on men twice your size and beat them easily. I’ve seen you fight some of the most skilled benders in the four nations. Best of all, I’ve seen you stand up to your mother when she critiques your parenting. I’m the Avatar and even I don’t have the guts to do that!”

Rangi playfully punched Kyoshi on the arm. “That’s because she thinks you’re perfect. You’re responsible for all the good things, like the fact that Koko is polite and makes her bed in the morning. I’M responsible for the things she considers weaknesses, like the fact that she’s almost five and still sleeps in our bed half the time because she’s scared of the dark, and is so picky that she only eats half of what’s on her plate and sneaks sweets from Auntie Mui. She thinks I’m too soft on her.” Rangi’s eyebrows furrowed. “As if being soft is a bad thing. She’s just a kid! And I’m her mom. I’m SUPPOSED to do things like let her sleep with me when she’s had a nightmare, or kiss her before I leave on a trip. And I’m not force-feeding her when she doesn’t like what’s for dinner. If she doesn’t eat and goes to bed hungry, that’s on her, and if she finds other things to eat, well, that means she’s just resourceful!” 

Rangi grabbed a handful of sand and let it cascade through her fingers. It was a gentle gesture, but Kyoshi could feel the anger building in her wife. She grabbed Rangi’s hand and rubbed it soothingly... it was a nice day. She couldn’t have Rangi’s temper ruining it.

“You’re the best mom,” she said softly. “Koko loves you so much. You’re her favorite.” 

“Am not,” Rangi said, finally letting out a soft laugh. “You made her laugh first. And you make the best cookies.” 

“I do,” Kyoshi agreed. “And I tell the most interesting bedtime stories and the funniest jokes.” Rangi rolled her eyes; Kyoshi thought her jokes were great, but they were actually incredibly corny. “But you give the best cuddles,” Kyoshi continued. “And you taught her how to read and write, sitting her on your lap every night to let her trace over your letters. You get her up and ready in the morning while I’m still trying to wake myself up-“ Kyoshi HATED mornings- “and you’re the one who can tame her rat’s nest of morning hair into a sleek topknot worthy of the Fire Nation’s best. She could do the first 30 Fire Nation Army exercises by the time she was four because YOU taught her how by making it into a game. You were the first one to make her smile and the one she called Mama first. She adores you.” 

Rangi was quiet. Kyoshi knew that Rangi often doubted her ability as a mother; Hei-Ran had loved her fiercely, but they were raising Koko differently than Rangi had been raised. There was no taboo in kisses or cuddles past infant-hood; there was no hiding feelings or emotions behind a mask of stoicism; there were no harsh punishments for mistakes, just discussions about how to learn from them. And this was what confused Rangi and made her insecure. She’d been taught her whole life that being “soft” and a gentle parent was wrong, and resulted in weak children. Kyoshi was trying to help change this mindset, but Rangi still doubted herself, and Hei-Ran’s consistent criticism didn’t help (even though Hei-Ran was MUCH softer on Koko than she’d ever been with Rangi. Rangi even caught her letting Koko braid her hair, something that would be considered a major taboo in Fire Nation culture). 

“You’re a great mom,” Kyoshi finished simply, picking up Rangi’s hand to kiss it. She would have kissed her forehead, but Rangi was still conscious of Fire Nation customs and wouldn’t let Kyoshi kiss or touch above the neck in public when they were in her homeland.

A high-pitched giggle interrupted their tender moment. Kirima was holding Koko piggyback style and bouncing her up and down, making her shriek with laughter. Wong was behind them, looking slightly put out.

“Someone threw his shoulder out in the water,” Kirima said, not bothering to hide the delighted smirk. “We’re going to find Atuat and see if she can work her magic on it.”

Wong muttered something about “you try throwing a 40 pound child for an hour and see how YOU like it.”

Kirima moved Koko around to her front and placed a smacking kiss on Koko’s cheek before gently tossing her to Kyoshi. Kyoshi caught the laughing child easily.

“Your turn to deal with the munchkin,” she said as she tossed her braid behind her and left to find Atuat with Wong.

Koko wrapped her arms around Kyoshi’s neck and stuck her lips out in a pout.

“Mama, I’m HUNGRY,” she said, putting on her most pathetic voice.

“Hi Hungry, I’m Mama,” Kyoshi responded with a smile.

Koko and Rangi both groaned in response to Kyoshi’s terrible joke, and Koko buried her head in Kyoshi’s shoulder in embarrassment. Kyoshi just laughed and kissed her daughter’s wet head.

“Come here, let’s get you dry before you catch a cold,” Rangi said, suddenly serious. She had been warming a towel in her hands, and Kyoshi swiftly passed the giggling ball of girl to Rangi. 

Rangi placed Koko in her lap and wrapped her up in the warm towel, making sure to thoroughly dry her hair and body.

Koko let out a content sigh. “That feels good, Mama,” she said when Rangi had finished drying her off, wrapped her up in the towel again, and started gently rubbing her back, one of the best ways to get her to relax. Koko still needed a nap after strenuous activities like playing in the water but she’d been fighting them, lately; Kyoshi knew Rangi was trying to coax her into getting a little sleep before lunch. Koko yawned and nestled her head against Rangi’s chest. She fought to keep her eyes open.

“You can go to sleep, sweetie,” Kyoshi said, reaching out to tuck a piece of Koko’s hair behind her ear.

“Don’t want to,” Koko muttered. “Want to stay up with you and Mama.” 

“You won’t be missing anything,” Kyoshi responded. “We’re just going to stay here for a little bit longer.” 

Koko yawned again and said “Ok, but just for a little while.” She burrowed her head in the soft place where Rangi’s shoulder and neck met and let out another happy sigh. Within minutes, her breathing slowed and she was fast asleep. Kumiho trotted up, spend a few moments checking to make sure that Koko was safe, and then curled up at Kyoshi’s feet and feel asleep herself.

Kyoshi and Rangi didn’t speak for a while. Rangi rubbed Koko’s back lazily, and Kyoshi stroked Kumiho’s fur with her foot. The only sounds were the waves crashing against the shore, and they could hear Hei-Ran and Jinpa distantly arguing about a pai sho move. It was the most relaxed Kyoshi had been in weeks.

“This is what I’ve always dreamed of,” Kyoshi said suddenly.

“What?” Rangi asked.

“This,” Kyoshi said, gesturing to her wife and daughter. “A family to call my own. And not just you two... but our sworn brothers and sister, and your mom, and Jinpa and Atuat, and even Auntie Mui. I never had anyone who cared about me or loved me until Kelsang found me. But now I have so many people who love me and who I love. You two best of all”

Rangi smiled back at Kyoshi. “I’ve always wanted this, too. I thought I would always be a soldier, or the Avatar’s guard. I never thought I’d get the chance to be a wife or a mother. And now I get to be all of it... it doesn’t feel real sometimes. I think it’s all a Dream. But I wake up and you’re beside me, and Koko’s sleeping on top of me, and I realize that it’s all real. That all of this is mine. That YOU’RE mine. And I wouldn’t have it any differently.”


End file.
